Thursday, November 29, 2012

When in Doubt, Start From the Beginning

If, in the first place, I had never found all that material gleaned—and then lost—from my research trip last summer, how would I have started my search now? Wouldn’t I have turned to
resources where I could find documents on the family’s existence?

I have to shake
myself awake, back to reality, and realize: when I slip and fall along the
genealogy research trail, just pick up and continue. If all is lost during that
“fall,” then go back and start from the beginning.

It's kind of like the “Do Not Pass ‘Go,’ Do Not Collect
$200” card in Monopoly. But it doesn’t really mean I’ve been sent to Monopoly
Jail—nor Genealogy Jail, for that matter. Family history research is really
that plodding journey, taking one painstakingly researched step at a time.
Losing research notes is no excuse to imagine it will become any different from
any other research assignment.

Well, we’ve already seen that it is no problem to look up
the 1820 census record, itemized by specific township, in this website here. Going
straight to the link for Bearfield
Township (which is only
two pages long), it doesn’t take long to find a listing for the household of
one John J. Jackson.

The household itself is small—only three people listed. That
would make sense. For the 1820 census—which notes the enumeration date as
August seventh—John Jackson would be at least thirty one years of age. His
wife, Sarah, would be approximately twenty four years old. Depending on which
date turns out to be the correct one for their marriage, it would be
appropriate for them to have at least one child under the age of ten. And that
is what the census reports for the John J. Jackson household in Bearfield Township.

Once again, that yields me a verification of an ancestor
eligible for designation as a First Families of Ohio candidate. But what if
this is not the right John J. Jackson? Although I’ve already read other reports
stating that Nancy Ann Jackson Snider’s father settled first in Bearfield
Township, just in case, I took a look through the rest of the 1820 census for
Perry County, Ohio. While there is a Jacob Jackson in Jackson
Township and a George Jackson in Reading
Township, there is no
other John Jackson listed in the 1820 census for Perry County.

While I fervently wish there were listings for the women in
those early census records, I know that is a useless effort. Unless there were
some online church baptismal records—there are none for this Jackson family that I can find—the women
remained nameless in these governmental records, eliminating one way to
ascertain whether the John Jackson I’ve found is the correct one.

I’ll take what I can get, though, and I’m settling with this
census record—for the time being. There are still other records I can check in
my quest to find out more about this Jackson
family of Perry County, Ohio.

It certainly is a way to learn patience--if one is so disposed. And to test your findings to make sure it's not the first thing off the shelf that gets bought in that genealogy shopping cart. Andrea, ever since I found that headstone that had an error, there is no way of convincing me that, just because something is in writing, it's got to be true! I guess that's all part of what goes into making it a "plodding" journey.

But that's okay. That's part of why I like this genealogical pursuit. I think of it as "The Quest." And those kinds of things never come easy.

Jacqi, have you been able to find a marriage record for John Jackson and Sarah? If they were married in Ohio, there should be one. Regardless of where they were married, if you can prove her maiden name through a pre-1820 marriage record, followed by the census and then perhaps by her burial in Ohio, that may be enough evidence to show she was John Jackson's wife in Ohio in 1820. You might also check deed records. If John sold any property, Sarah might be named in the dower release. It's more difficult to prove women for First Families of Ohio, but it can be done, and it sounds like you're on the right track. Good luck in finding the evidence you need! Let me know if I can help.

Oh, Shelley, that is one of the problems, as I'll be writing about in the next few days. I've found an 1883 history book that mentions that John Jackson's wife was "an Ijams" and though it doesn't mention her name, it names some of her brothers.

However, the part that I find suspect is narratives that state the couple was married in or near Saint Louis, Missouri. I find that hard to imagine, given the difficulty of travel in those days, and considering that she and her family lived in Fairfield County--which either later became a part of Perry County, or signified the family's move to the nearby county. Why would she get married so far away, if all her family was in Ohio?

Nevertheless, I can't find her marriage record in Ohio--though right after her early death, I can find documentation of her husband's second marriage in Perry County. Frustrating!

Shelley, thank you for your offer of help. You know how it is with us competitive researchers: I'll want to wrestle this one myself...but if I get desperate, I may give up and take you up on your offer.

How devestating to lose your research! That's one of my nightmares, having my computer crash or a fire destroying all the records I have stored in my house. Good luck finding your documentation for the Ohio First Families!

I guess that is one of my consolations about entering my research database on my trees at Ancestry.com. At least, that way the information is kept at a separate repository, in case one of those nightmare scenarios unfolds. Sometimes, I'm not sure which would be worse: computer crash or fire!

About Me

It is my contention that, after a lifetime, one of the greatest needs people have is to be remembered. They want to know: have I made a difference?
I write because I can't keep for myself the gifts others have entrusted to me. Through what I've already been given--though not forgetting those to whom I must pass this along--from family I receive my heritage; through family I leave a legacy. With family I weave a tapestry. These are my strands.